--- title: "chris 21 Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra" description: "With the help of Capterra, learn about chris 21 Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Payroll products and more." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/38720/chris-21/" page_type: "product" language: "en" --- # chris 21 Software Review 2026: Features, Reviews, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on August 26, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[FAQs](#faqs)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) chris 21 ## What is chris 21? Our software offers the core functionality expected from an established provider, including statutory tables and reports. The software is compliant with legislative requirements in each country of operation and can be used to create standard reports and statutory output. Payslips can be paper or delivered directly to the individual via email or self service, to meet employee expectations in the digital age. Our Payroll module is currently available in 26 countries. ## What is chris 21 used for? [Talent Management](https://www.capterra.com/talent-management-software/)[Payroll](https://www.capterra.com/payroll-software/) Top alternative Featured Overall rating Based on 4 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive \- Neutral \- Negative \- Starting price A$0.01 Flat Rate, Per Month Free trial not available Free version not included Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for chris 21?[Manage this product listing](https://digitalmarkets.gartner.com/get-listed/claim-bx?url=https://www.frontiersoftware.com/&name=chris 21) ## chris 21 Overview Updated August 2026 AI summary chris 21 is payroll and talent management software designed for organizations of all sizes, offering features such as payroll management, direct deposit, payroll reporting, tax compliance, and compensation management. It also includes employee onboarding, profiles, self-service portal, and vacation tracking. Deployed across web and mobile platforms, chris 21 supports multi-country payroll and offers payroll outsourcing options. ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### chris 21 4.3 (4) VS. [4.3 (1,932)](https://www.capterra.com/p/86714/WebPay/reviews/) Starting Price A$0.01 Flat Rate, Per Month Starting Price Contact vendor Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 4.5 (4) Ease Of Use 4.3 (1,931) Value For Money 4.0 (2) Value For Money 4.2 (1,587) Customer Service 3.5 (2) Customer Service 4.1 (1,660) ## chris 21 alternatives [4.4 (1,392)](https://www.capterra.com/p/130949/Paycom/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 87% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.6 (1,264)](https://www.capterra.com/p/226634/CEIPAL-ATS/reviews/) Starting price $25.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 96% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars Highest Rated [4.9 (4,867)](https://www.capterra.com/p/172127/Rippling/reviews/) Starting price $8.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 98% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.5 (1,769)](https://www.capterra.com/p/66908/Workday-HCM/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 90% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars ## FAQs about chris 21 Overview ### What company size and specific industries is chris 21 built for? chris 21 is designed for organizations in the public, private, and third sectors across Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Far East. It suits companies with 50 to 80,000 employees, making it a fit for small and midsize organizations as well as large enterprises in those sectors. Features and Usability ### What are the key features of chris 21? chris 21 offers payroll management, payroll outsourcing, direct deposit, payroll reporting, and tax compliance for pay processing and compliance tasks. It also includes applicant tracking, recruitment management, employee onboarding, employee profiles, performance management, time tracking, and vacation/leave tracking, plus reporting/analytics and a self-service portal. Getting Started and Support ### What training and onboarding options does chris 21 offer? chris 21 provides in person training, live online sessions, webinars, and documentation to help teams get started. In person training supports direct instruction, live online sessions allow guided remote setup, webinars offer scheduled group learning, and documentation serves as written reference material for self-paced review. Getting Started and Support ### What customer support options does chris 21 offer? chris 21 provides 24/7 Live Rep and Chat support. These channels give users direct access to assistance at any time, but no reviewer feedback is available to describe response speed, helpfulness, or common support frustrations. ## Features AI summary Based on 17,833 Payroll reviews Capterra data shows that buyers of payroll software rank the following features as their top priorities: - **Payroll Management** (**58%** of reviewers rated this feature as critical) - **Direct Deposit** (**58%**) - **Payroll Reporting** (**51%**) chris 21 supports all three of the features reviewers consider most important: **Payroll Management**, **Direct Deposit**, and **Payroll Reporting**. Together, these capabilities help businesses process payroll accurately, pay employees on time through direct deposit, and track payroll data through reporting, allowing teams to manage compensation more efficiently and maintain better financial oversight. Compensation Management 4.0 (2) 50.00% of 2 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Manages compensation such as salary, bonus, and benefits processes, aligning with policies Employee Management 3.0 (1) 100.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Track employee schedules, availability, and performance across projects and tasks Employee Profiles 3.0 (1) 100.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Centralized storage for employee data, records, and performance metrics Recruitment Management 5.0 (1) 0.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Tools to find, assess, and hire suitable candidates for a job within an organization Reporting/Analytics 3.0 (1) 100.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important View and track pertinent metrics to find patterns and gain insights from data API Application programming interface that allows for integration with other systems/databases chris 21 27 features ### All Features - API: Application programming interface that allows for integration with other systems/databases - Applicant Tracking: Find and manage potential candidates and their applications and resumes through the recruiting life cycle - Compensation Management: Manages compensation such as salary, bonus, and benefits processes, aligning with policies - Competency Management: Catalog, manage, and develop employee skill sets - Direct Deposit: Digitally deposit correct payroll amounts into individual employee's bank accounts - Employee Database: Electronic storage of staff/employee contact information and job status in a centralized repository - Employee Management: Track employee schedules, availability, and performance across projects and tasks - Employee Onboarding: Process of familiarizing new employees with the company, their position, and responsibilities - Employee Profiles: Centralized storage for employee data, records, and performance metrics - Goal Setting/Tracking: Establish measurable goals and objectives and track their progress over a specific period of time - Individual Development Plans: Document completed by employee to assist with career and personal development to reach short term and long term goals - Multi-Country: Pay employees in multiple countries using correct currencies and correct tax deduction amounts - Multi-State: Pay employees in multiple states with correct tax deduction amounts in each - Onboarding: Process of familiarizing new clients, stakeholders or employees with the company, a new location, or a service - Payroll Management: Manage employee salary processes, data, taxes, and records administration efficiently - Payroll Outsourcing: Delegate payroll processing to third party vendors - Payroll Reporting: View and track payroll metrics including tax liabilities, pay rates, working hours, deductions and more - Performance Management: Organize and manage the accomplishments and development of employees or performance of applications or systems - Recruitment Management: Tools to find, assess, and hire suitable candidates for a job within an organization - Reporting/Analytics: View and track pertinent metrics to find patterns and gain insights from data - Self Service Portal: Online portal through which end users can access the system, manage tasks, or obtain information - Succession Planning: Planning, tracking and developing internal talent for future key position filling - Tax Compliance: Track tax-related transactions, tax remittance and tax reporting for various groups of employees and contractors - Time Tracking: Measure and track time including hours worked and paid time off (PTO) - Training Management: Track employee/learner's progression through training programs - Vacation/Leave Tracking: Request, track, and manage time off requests and vacation time - Wage Garnishment: Automatically subtract garnishments from wages --- Get Advice We can help you find the software with the features you need. Features 4.3 (4) 4.3 Based on 4 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 4.0 (2) Basic A$0.01 Flat Rate,Per Month Value for money 4.0 (2) 4.0 Based on 2 reviews Connect with a Capterra advisor for a free 15-minute consultation Get a personalized software list aligned to your business needs with guidance from our expert advisors. Our team has helped 1 million+ businesses like yours find options that fit their needs. ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 3.5 (2) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 3.5 (2) 3.5 Based on 2 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 4.3 Based on 4 reviews Filter by rating 5(2) 4(1) 3(1) 2(0) 1(0) Mentioned topic Sorted by most recent AN Anonymous User Reporting Officer Non-Profit Organization Management ### "A little outdated visually and hard to learn" 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 3.0 3.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 2.0 2.0 Likelihood to Recommend 3/10 September 9, 2025 Chris21 was the first HR system I have used, but having done user testing for many others I see its limitations. It is not easy on the eye, everything has to be done manually and it requires a learning curve or notes for new users to get by. Pros We were able to capture everything we wanted and, with some practise, it's easy to download reports. Cons It is not at all user friendly and requires a steep learning curve of learning codes to access different screens and so on. Reporting all has to be done manually. Customer service when you ring up are quite rude. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Response from Vendor September 29, 2025 Thank you for your feedback. chris21 served many organisations well over the years, but it is no longer under active development and has not been offered as a new solution for more than 5 years. Today, we encourage all existing clients to transition to ichris, a modern platform with all the existing functionality of chris21, plus more, designed to deliver a more intuitive and flexible experience, with ongoing development and support. We also appreciate your feedback on usability and customer service. These remain priorities for us, and your comments will be shared with our teams to help guide continuous improvement. IK Irina K. software engineer Computer Software ### "It works fine but looks very basic" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 November 21, 2023 Pros We have recently gone on to Chris 21 and it seems to work well. Cons The user interface seems quite dated and not very easy to know where everything is. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. IT Iwona T. Staff Manager Luxury Goods & Jewelry ### "chris 21 Review 2023" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 May 29, 2023 The platform provided a robust HR management solution that streamlined our HR processes and improved efficiency. The reporting and analytics features offered valuable insights into our workforce, enabling better decision-making. While there were a few areas for improvement, the overall experience was satisfactory, contributing to enhanced HR operations within our organization. Pros There are several aspects of chris 21 that I found particularly appealing. Firstly, its comprehensive HR management capabilities provided a centralized system for managing employee data, payroll, and leave management, streamlining HR processes. Secondly, the platform's robust reporting and analytics features offered valuable insights into workforce trends, performance, and compliance, enabling data-driven decision-making. Lastly, the customizable workflows and automation capabilities allowed for efficient and tailored HR processes to suit specific organizational needs. Cons While this software had many positive features, there were a few areas that could be improved. Firstly, the initial implementation and setup process could be complex and time-consuming, requiring significant coordination and technical expertise. Secondly, the user interface and navigation could be overwhelming for new users, and it may take some time to become fully proficient in utilizing all the features of the platform. Lastly, the customer support response time could occasionally be slower than desired, impacting timely issue resolution. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. KK Kaium K. Manager Computer Software ### "Best Available with in budget" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 February 26, 2019 Pros Features is very good and also Customer Support Cons Pricing is competitive but justifies with features Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.